Research overview
The goal of this initiative is to evaluate the efficacy and potential benefits of our Ten-Week Series as a complementary program for post-traumatic growth and healing.
The study focuses on the real-life experiences of participants in the Feet on the Ground Ten-Week Series, and is being conducted in five phases.
Phase One
Research Design
We assembled a team of professional experts from the fields of social psychology, neuroscience, and public health to advise us on our research project: Mallory Feldman, a PhD candidate at UNC, Sophie Needleman, an MA Candidate at Columbia Teachers College, and Becky Romasco-Kelly, graduate of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Guided by their expertise and advice, we spent a full year conducting an in-depth desk review on protocols, tools, and neuroscience research related to our Theory of Change, and the components that we wanted to study. We designed a specific research protocol, study guidelines, and recruited participants.
Status: Complete
Phase Two
Piloting and Revision
In October 2019, we began our pilot study in New York. We utilized demographic surveys, pre-surveys, mid-line surveys, and endline surveys to obtain measures of key variables, such as interoceptive awareness, perceived self-compassion, PTSD symptoms, and overall wellbeing. Data collection for our first group completed on December 2019 and preparations are now underway for our second research group.
Status: Ongoing
Phase Three
Intensive Analysis and Reporting
During Phase Three, we will analyze the data obtained in the previous phase and report our findings. Analysis of our initial New York pilot is now complete, and preliminary results look promising!
Status: Ongoing
Phase Four
Data Collection
We will collect data at critical points during the Ten-Week Series. Research participants will complete a set of surveys that measure their subjective experiences using a set of pre-validated questionnaires, as well as relevant, newly designed questions.
Status: Ongoing
Phase Five
Reporting and Dissemination
Following analysis of the study results, we will publish a report on our findings and contribute to best practices in the burgeoning field of holistic mental health interventions.
Status: Not_yet_completed
Interoceptive Awareness
Participants were better able to sense their internal state at the end of the Ten-Week Series.
Our pilot study found a statistically significant improvement in self-reported interoceptive awareness following completion of the Feet on the Ground Ten-Week Series. Interoceptive awareness — a sense of what’s going on inside one’s physical body — has been cited by several researchers as the mechanism by which targeted movement and mindfulness practices create a reduction in symptoms of post-traumatic stress.¹
Gratitude and Empathy
Participants experienced a statistically significant improvement in self-reported gratitude and empathy.
Participants in the pilot study scored higher on questions related to gratitude and empathy at the end of the Feet on the Ground Ten-Week Series than at the start. Previous research has shown a correlation between increased empathy and reduced trauma symptomatology
Results from the pilot study also indicated positive effects in a variety of other areas, including:
- Subjective Wellbeing
- Perceived Functioning
- Resilience
- Orienting to the Present Moment
- Embodied Connection
- Agency
- PTSD Symptomatology
- Perceived Self-Compassion
However, additional studies are required to properly assess these variables.
Interested in learning more?
Get in touch to request more information about our research initiative.
